East School closure a possibility during Torrington budget talks

Published 9:43 pm, Monday, March 14, 2016

TORRINGTON >> The potential closure of East School is on the table, in addition to a series of other measures, as district administrators seek to cut the proposed district budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year.

Closing East School school would save the district approximately $1 million, officials said. Second-through-fourth grade students attending or set to attend East School would be moved into the other district elementary schools, according to Reitman. To make room, fifth-grade students across the district would then start to attend Torrington Middle School.

East School is the only school that could be closed as it is the sole district building not currently under bond, officials said.

Reitman presented a series of cuts which would reduce the projected district budget by $3,504,693, leaving the remainder as a 5 percent increase over last year. This increase, according to Reitman, is largely driven by the cost of providing special education services and contractual obligations.

These potential cuts include the elimination of a series of positions in the district, including an assistant principal at Torrington Middle School and Torrington High School; a guidance counselor at Torrington High School; family and consumer science and technology education teachers at the high school, a special education staffer, numeracy and literacy instructors, a financial assistant and a school psychologist at each city school — leaving one for the district as a whole.

A series of district programs and supplies are also proposed to be cut, including sports at Torrington Middle School, Camp Invention and EMT instruction; security equipment, math, science and grammar materials and books for district libraries.

IT services would also be brought into the district under the tenants of the proposed budget cuts.

“This is, I have to say, as ugly as I’ve ever seen a budget,” said Reitman. “And I just want to make sure that it’s out there for the world to know that 9.95 was not a wish-list budget — 9.95 was what we need to make up for the chronic under-funding that we’ve had.”

Contingency funds for special education costs included in the previous budget put forward by the superintendent were also eliminated in this iteration. Reitman projects that special education costs are expected to rise by around $1.5 million in the coming year, as this has been the historic pattern for the district.

The series of cuts would have a dramatic impact the district in the coming year.

“We’ve gotten it to five, and that was ugly, and that was painful,” said Reitman. “We gave the board a budget of 9.95. I know that’s high — I know it is. But if we want to educate the children of Torrington, we have to start funding appropriately — at least special education, so we’re not constantly chasing our tails, trying to make up that shortfall every single year. Our kids deserve better. These cuts are ugly... we’ve cut everything we can think of that will allow us to still provide an education.”

More extensive cuts would leave the district able only to provide core services, according to Reitman.

“We’re looking at ugly. We’re looking at no sports at all. We’re looking at the arts,” said Reitman. “If it isn’t reading, writing and arithmetic, we won’t be doing it. And that’s where it’s going to come from.”

“Any further cuts to this is very detrimental to the kids in Torrington, and our job is to do our best for them,” said Reitman. “Somebody, damn it, has to fight for them. Somebody has to fight for them.”

Budget Committee chairman and board member Ken Traub asked Reitman and other administrators to prioritize the potential cuts — from easiest to most difficult to live with — and submit the results to the board at a future meeting.